If the Cardinals are 'rebuilding', the 2007-2008 offseason should serve as a blueprint

Like many Cardinals fans, I am quite frustrated that they are sticking with John Mozeliak for one more year but can take solace in the fact that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, with Chaim Bloom set to take over in 2026.

Ultimately, as frustrating as it is, it isn't terribly surprising. And as we now know, it appears the Cardinals are preparing for a rebuild. They haven't overtly said that it's what they're going to do, but if we read between the lines, it's obvious.

We don't know yet what the Cardinals are going to do and if they'll trade players like Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Ryan Helsley. They are going to operate with a smaller payroll, so it is possible.

But a "rebuild" doesn't necessarily mean stripping everything down to the bones. The Cardinals themselves have done a rebuild before, dating all the way back to the 2007-2008 offseason. If they want to rebuild again, this is the model they should follow.

Recalling the 2007-2008 offseason

The Cardinals finished 2007 with a 78-84 record and made a lot of key changes. They fired then-general manager Walt Jocketty and promoted Mozeliak to the position. They also brought in several different voices from the outside that helped shape the future of the team.

There were some tough roster decisions that were also made, some out of necessity and others to turn the focus to the future. That offseason, we saw the Cardinals break up the famous MV3 of Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmonds. While Pujols stayed, they were forced to trade Rolen because of his feud with Tony La Russa, and Edmonds was a player on an expiring contract.

Troy Glaus came from the Blue Jays in the Rolen trade, and David Freese came over from the Padres in the Edmonds trade, which obviously turned out pretty well for the Cardinals. Freese wasn't called up until 2009, but what the Cardinals hoped to accomplish by trading Edmonds was to clear center field for Rick Ankiel, who still was a promising young player.

David Eckstein also departed in free agency and the Cardinals replaced him with Cesar Izturis. By all accounts, the Cardinals entered 2008 with a slightly worse roster on paper than they did in 2007. But it was also time to prioritize the youth movement.

Such is the case now, and it could lead to the Cardinals trading some players. Tough decisions do need to be made. Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Ryan Helsley could be on the move. If the Cardinals were to ship Contreras out, they would be handing the reins over to Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages behind the plate. Both have proven to be solid options that really helped the Cardinals this year.

Helsley, like Edmonds, is on an expiring contract, so the Cardinals could certainly capitalize on his value now and bring in some young, Major League-ready talent. Meanwhile, in the front office, Bloom will have an influential voice and plenty of say in how the Cardinals do things.

Now, I'm not suggesting that the 2025 season is going to be an improvement like 2008 was over 2007. They finished that season with a record of 86-76. It might get worse before it gets better. But the Cardinals are set up to follow a similar blueprint to one that actually helped them re-emerge as a contender.

They built around Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright and other young players emerged as well. Now, they can look to build around Masyn Winn, Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Jordan Walker.

It might be a painful offseason, but the Cardinals do have a blueprint they can fall back on to get themselves back to contender status. It just may not happen right away.